The Government Accounting Office released a report on a work program for foreign students that Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, says, “not only calls into question the department’s oversight of the program, but also whether such lack of oversight is a serious national security risk.” Sen. Grassley called for a moratorium on the program until its problems are fixed.

The Optimal Practical Training (OPT) program allows foreign students to obtain temporary work in their major fields of study during and after completion of an academic program in the United States. Use of the program has increased dramatically. In 2008, when the Bush Administration created the program without congressional authorization, about 28,500 students were approved. In 2013, over 123,000 were approved. Only an extremely small percentage of students are denied or have their permission revoked.

Sen. Grassley asked GAO to review the program to gain an understanding of how it is used and how students are tracked. The report found that (1) foreign students, sometimes aided by their faculty, acquire work outside of their field of study, and (2) due to a lack of oversight by DHS, no one in the federal government knows where tens of thousands of these students are located, who they are working for or what they are doing in the United States.

The report concluded that Immigration and Customs Enforcement “has taken initial actions to identify risks across student and exchange visitor program-certified schools; however, ICE has not analyzed available information to identify and assess potential risks specific to the (program) posed by schools and foreign students.”

Sen. Grassley wrote Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson to express concerns about the program’s integrity, and called on him to put the program on hold until problems are fixed. He noted that Faisal Shazad, a Pakistani-American now serving a life sentence for building a car bomb he left in Times Square, had used the program. “While it is difficult to know how many other potential terrorists may have exploited (the program) to remain in the United States, it is clear that the program requires an immediate overhaul before another potential terrorist exploits it,” Grassley wrote in his letter.

Just like ObamaCare or any other program that has come down through the current administration has never been thoroughly thought out from beginning to end. Making no qualm about it — I see the onset and maturation of these programs are exactly like or compared to any gaggle of people sitting around passing that joint and saying, “wouldn’t it be nice to make everyone in the USA have health insurance.” Then of course just like the Cub Scouts or any other pubescent program planning…was there ever a model constructed?

Notwithstanding anything else this entire notion of amnesty — just like the brilliant scheme of healthcare is destined for failure insofar as it has not been planned accordingly or realistically. Since when does an arrogant president and his stoolies have the right to demand either by fine or otherwise that a person cower into a position of no free will? This is ridiculous!